Hi All,I have recently moved to the North Shore of Sydney and wish to have fun experiences riding the surrounding mountain bike trails, at least weekly, while i am in the area. My wife won't let me ride on the black stuff as she feels NSW car drivers are too dangerous. This leaves me with 'Cascades' , 'Manly Dam' and anything else nearby. I don't have a bike and have never been mountain bike riding. I will be in the area for probably one year. I know very little about bikes, i don't know if i need a hard tail or a dually or if i should build a bike, what parts i need, or get a second hand one. Perhaps rent a bike for the year? I think the option of selling the bike after 1 year would be nice as i'm not sure ill be close to mountain bike tracks after next year.Any advice would be much appreciated.Thanks,kris

Have a look at http://www.cellbikes.com.au bikes in Stanmore as they provide good value for money and provide good service. Their prices aren't as competitive as they used to be as prices fall on some of the other brands but they are worth a look. There is a 99 Bikes on Pacific Highway at St Leonards/Artarmon.

General advice is to go in, have a look, and have a ride before deciding!

Where on the north shore? do you need a permission slip from your wife for trail riding? most trails you will need to ride to, which will involve riding on black stuff, unless you plan to drive to them, in which case you can go anywhere you like (that your wife approves of).

The $1599 cell is fine, 10 speed XT drivetrain, elixir 5 brakes, conservative wheels, good fork. It isn't however a carbon fibre frame - its alloy. Being CF wouldn't do much to improve it though, and the extra cost of a CF frame could also net you plenty of worse components in substitution.

I prefer a full suspension bike for manly as it is pretty chopped out and rocky in places, but the cell would have no problems getting round it.

Thanks again guys,looks like i should go a dualie over a hard tail and also a 26er over a 29er. Read the links and the other thread. Not too happy about that so called CF cell bike... its put me off cell bikes a bit. Looks like i don't need cf and cell bikes don't have a dualie so other bike brands the way to go. i'm happy to buy a second hand dualie if its worth it. 1500 or less would be ideal. looks like trances and other giants etc cost more.can't wait to get out on these tracks.yes i do at times have to keep the leader of the opposition happy. and suggestions for a good dualie option?

full suspension, your body will thank you. 26er or 29er - well the latter rolls nicely over the bumpCarbon Fibre - no, go for aluminium

The challenge is that there is a direct relationship with price and quality of the full suspension, so at this price you are on the edge, typically you need to spend more. It also means second hand is a very serious option.

The main brands are typically a good choice - though if you go second hand, have a very good look over a bike to check the condition and ensure you can't spot fractures or signs of damage - one Aluminium is dinged, its strength is reduced and (in short) can't be repaired.

Apart from the advantages of buying a better hardtail than a worse full susser for the price, there is a school of thought that says you should start out with a hardtail to encourage finesse and technique, rather than relying on the rear suspension. The idea being that when you upgrade and buy a full susser, you will be better at moving your weight around to help the bike.

This school of thought may of course be pure garbage.

Oh, and Manly Dam is a great ride, and it is possible to ride there and back without dying. I should know, I did it yesterday evening.

Awesome, perhaps at some stage when i get a bike ill see you guys on the track !

I'm really not sure what to do at this point. I don't think i have the eye to pick a good second hand bike and avoid the ones with fractures etc.

To get into the brand new dual suspension bikes looks like a fair bit of coin for a beginner. If a hard tail can adequately cover the tracks in my area then i'd rather have a quality hard tail than a sub standard dually.

Hi guys, thought i would update with latest thoughtsI've been researching and discussing with mates and i'm now quite sure i will opt for the large 2013 Trance 2 29er. Any suggestions for pedals?The guys in the bikes stores have all suggested at this point in time, for me, bikes similar to the trance as most appropriate for cascades / manly dam etc.Can't wait to get out on the tracks shortly!

Not a lot of off road near you. Much of the off road routes are just outside of Sydney.

On road you have still have some options from North Sydney. If your wife is concerned about Sydney traffic, then have a look at the bike paths near you. 2 good options come to mind;1. Epping rd bike path. A small amount of road from North Sydney will get you to the start of this off road path and it goes for miles.2. South. You can take the bike path into the CBD, then follow the bike paths all the way to Kernell or take the Cooks river.

Cycling Hub looks like a scam. - It says is it the World's Largest Cycles Store I havn't heard of it (and know Wiggle is the worlds largest) plus it would be Cycling and not Cycles. - This combination of bikes available doesn't make sense - Scott and Specialized would typically not be sold by a sole retailer and Giant typically wont facilitate overseas purchases- Stolen content - copy a section of text, eg.aboutus and see which other exact results are returned- To good to be true prices are almost always too good to be true- Incomplete Info beyond copy a paste- Domain name search reveals a protected domain name or has no association with actual store- Flawed english, not alwazs an indicator but certainly a sign to proceed cautiously- Western Union Credit.... seriously as the worlds largest "Cycles Store"... no credit card or paypal?

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